Commendable gardening

Monday, June 20, 2005

Residents on the south side of the city are getting fresh vegetables thanks to the cooperation of Robert Harris, his mother Bernice, the East Missouri Action Agency, area master gardeners, Southeast Missouri State University and the city of Cape Girardeau.

The city provides the Harrises with land in a floodplain on South Fountain Street. It also ran a water line from Giboney Avenue to a spot behind the garden. The master gardeners paid a third of the expense. The East Missouri Action Agency provided the grant that got Harris' community garden going a decade ago. The university provided his plants and flowers with supplemental help from a local nursery.

As the harvest arrives, Harris puts the vegetables on a table for residents to pick up for free.

As master gardener Marge Bauerle says, this kind of thing can have a domino effect on a neglected area. This kind of cooperation deserves commendation.